Top story: ‘A terrifying double disaster’

Good morning. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you the latest news, sport and features this Monday morning.

Victims of the tsunami that has devastated the Indonesian island of Sulawesi will be buried in mass graves as officials fight to stave off the threat of disease and desperate relatives continue to search for survivors. The death toll from the disaster stands at 832 this morning but authorities warned that thousands could have perished after the six-metre wave smashed into the city of Palu, which is home to more than 300,000 people. The head of the national disaster agency said the burials “must be done as soon as possible for health and religious reasons”. He added that a shortage of mechanical diggers and fuel for generators was hampering rescue efforts, but the country’s president, Joko Widodo, has authorised officials to begin accepting international aid for the disaster.

Many are also feared dead in the Donggala region but rescue teams were only just beginning to reach the stricken area this morning after roads were blocked. An international aid worker described the situation on the island as a “terrifying double disaster”. Check out this picture gallery to see the devastation caused by the quake and tsunami, and follow the latest updates at our live blog.

May’s Brexit battle – Theresa May is trying to assert her authority over the government and Brexit policy amid fierce attacks from her own side as hundreds of activists gathered in Birmingham for the annual party conference. Boris Johnson led the assault on the prime minister, calling her Chequers plan “deranged”, while Jacob Rees-Mogg told a packed fringe meeting that the plan was the “deadest of dying ducks”. May had earlier tried to head off criticism by saying that she believed in Brexit and in delivering a policy that respected the referendum vote in favour of leaving the EU. The issue is likely to dominate the week in Birmingham, but the chancellor, Philip Hammond, will try to reset the agenda with a speech today extolling the virtues of free enterprise. The prime minister will also announce a plan to prevent restaurant owners from pocketing tips earned by staff.

A ‘gut punch’ – The Brett Kavanaugh case continues to grip the US, with multiple reports that the FBI will not interview the judge’s third accuser, Julie Swetnick, as part of its investigation into the affair. The Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway also caused surprise when, discussing the case on TV, she said she had been the victim of a sexual assault. But while much focus has been on the accusations against Donald Trump’s supreme court pick, there is concern that Kavanaugh could have lied under oath about what he knew about allegations that his mentor and friend, the disgraced federal judge Alex Kozinski, sexually harassed dozens of female clerks during his time on the bench. Kavanaugh said the allegations against Kozinski had been a “gut punch”, but there is surprise about his professed ignorance because Kozinski’s behaviour, which ranged from kissing clerks to showing them pornography at work and making sexist remarks, was said to be common knowledge throughout the judiciary.

Check-up check – One in four evening and weekend GP appointments in England are not being filled, according to data obtained under freedom of information. Visits are lowest on Sundays, when 37% of appointments go unfilled, according to figures obtained by Pulse, a specialist publication for doctors. On weekday evenings, 23% of slots are going unused. The British Medical Association, which opposes the government’s controversial drive to guarantee access to family doctors at weekends, described the figures as “shocking”.

Staying neutral – California has introduced the United States’ toughest net neutrality laws in an effort to require internet providers to maintain a level playing field online. Supporters hope the move will have national implications, prompting Congress to enact national net neutrality rules or encourage other states to follow suit. However, the Trump administration, which last year repealed rules that prevented internet companies from exercising more control over what people watch and see on the internet, was seeking an injunction to block the law. The state is also likely to face a legal challenge from internet companies.

Grave matter – Police have launched an investigation after the macabre discovery of suspected human remains lying uncovered at a cemetery in north London. A broken shoulder, shoulder blade and leg bone have been found at the privately run Tottenham Park cemetery by a group of campaigners who are concerned that graves are being dug up and reused without consent amid a shortage of burial space. Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece, a Liberal Democrat peer whose parents, brother, two uncles and cousin are buried there, said: “We want to be able to protect this place so our families are safe.”

Lunchtime read: Nicolas Cage, the greatest living actor?

Nicolas Cage. Photograph: John Parra/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter

Who is the greatest American actor working today? Not many people would identify that person as Nicolas Cage, but our writer Hadley Freeman is in no doubt: the often outlandishly mannered star has no competition for a career that has spanned four decades and features 80s comedies, 90s action movies and oddball classics such as Wild At Heart. Promoting his new film Mandy, a niche horror in which he plays a devastated lumberjack who sets out to avenge the death of his girlfriend, Cage meets Freeman to discuss his career (“I can be very self-destructive”), his new-found single status having split with his fourth wife (“It’s pretty grim”), and how his philosophy teacher put him on to Glastonbury village (“I fell in love with the place”).

Business

The US and Canada have reached an agreement to continue with the Nafta trade deal after talks went to the wire on a midnight deadline overnight. On the markets, Brent crude prices hit their highest level for almost four years in early trading as investors eyed the resumption of US sanctions against Iran next month. The FTSE100 is expected to open down 0.15% while the pound is buying $1.303 and €1.123.

The papers

Guardian front page, Monday 1 October 2018 Photograph: The Guardian

Tory infighting ahead of the party’s conference in Birmingham is the main focus of the front pages today. The Guardian says Theresa May is trying to assert her authority amid Brexit divisions, while the Mail, the Times and the Metro all lead with a senior Tory backlash against Boris Johnson. The Mail splashes with “Boris will never be PM, says Hammond”, the Times has “Johnson dismissed as irrelevant in backlash over Brexit criticism”, and the Metro says “Just zip it Bojo”.

The Telegraph goes with Jeremy Hunt’s broadside against Brussels: “EU behaving like Soviet Union, says Hunt”, while the FT leads with “Minister puts corporate abuse of ‘big data’ on trial”. The Mirror says “Tories rob NHS of £2.7bn” while the Sun has the claim that Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly raped a woman in Las Vegas in 2009.